Mobile phones, and computer devices in general, typically use a grid-based application menu that allows users to interface with various computer applications. In a grid-based application menu, application icons are fixed in specific locations on a two-dimensional image plane (viewed area) of a display screen, such that the locations of the icons are specifiable by reference to an x coordinate and a y coordinate of a hypothetical grid superimposed on the image plane. (Even though the image plane may be effectively scrollable and in that sense the location of the icons relative to the frame of the display screen or to the device housing may change, the icons remain fixed in place on the grid and relative to each other, when the grid is thought of as extending beyond the frame of the display screen to cover a hypothetical entire area occupied by the icons; in this sense, scrolling of the image plane amounts to merely moving the grid.) Upon turning on a grid-based device (e.g., a mobile phone), application icons are initially displayed on the device's display device as a user-device interface by which the user interacts with the computer applications. FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B depict exemplary grid-based application menus.
FIG. 1A depicts a typical “iPhone” user interface 100. “iPhone” user interface 100 includes interactive application icons where each interactive application icon allows a user of iPhone user interface 100 to launch and use a specific computer application. For example, selecting “SMS” icon 110 by the user, for example, by touching “SMS” icon 110, would cause the SMS application associated with icon 110 to open on the screen of the iPhone device. The open SMS application would then permit the user of the iPhone device to select content entities which, in this case, are SMS messages, from a list of SMS messages.
FIG. 1B depicts a typical “Nokia N73” phone application menu 120 that includes interactive application icons where each interactive icon allows a user to launch and use a specific computer application. For example, selecting “Contacts” icon 130 by the user, for example, by touching icon 130, would cause the “Contacts” application associated with icon 130 to open on the screen of the phone device. The user of the phone device would then be able to use the “Contacts” application to select content entities which, in this case, are contact entries of a specific person, from a list of entries. Likewise, selecting “Messages” icon 140 by the user would cause a “Messages” application associated with icon 140 to open on the screen of the phone device. The user of the phone device would then be able to use the “Messages” application to view a list of content entities, which, in this case, are messages, and select a message of interest (e.g., to display the entire or original message).
With a grid-based application menu, content is stored and accessed hierarchically. That is, content is retrieved by navigating through menus, sub-menus, sub-sub-menus, etc. to reach the content items (e.g. contact entries in a contact list, emails in an email folder, etc.). While such a hierarchical arrangement of content is logical and in that sense intuitive and therefore easy for users to learn how to navigate, it is not necessarily the most practical or user-friendly arrangement of content. In a hierarchical arrangement of content, all information is more or less equally difficult to access (with certain exceptions, e.g. contact lists are generally organized alphabetically, emails are generally arranged chronologically, etc.). In this respect, it may be said that the content stored on the device is “buried” within the storage of the device. Conventional hierarchical arrangements do not (adequately) organize information according to likelihood of use. That is, content that is more likely to be used is not rendered more easily or more quickly accessible than other content. For example, frequency of use may be correlated with likelihood of use. In a hierarchical arrangement, each subsequent retrieval, within a short period of time, of the same content item is equally as difficult (or tedious or inconvenient) and time-consuming as the first retrieval, e.g. requires the same number of steps, e.g. navigating through the same number of menus and submenus, to reach the same storage location of the content. Moreover, navigating from menu to (sub)menu and from item to item (or searching items) at a given hierarchical level is in itself often inconvenient, tedious and slow.
It would therefore be useful and advantageous to provide a user interface and content/application management system that is more practical, convenient and user-friendly, specifically, that renders desired content (e.g. content that is more likely to be used) more easily and quickly accessible, so as to reduce the difficulty, tedium (e.g. number of user actions), and time required to access desired content.